Air Canada

Canada's national airline, previously known as Trans-Canada Airlines. Originally government owned, subsequently privatized in the late eighties and early nineties. Took over Canada's other major airline, Canadian Airlines, in 2000. For a few years, a combination of minimal competition within Canada and bad times for airlines in general led most Canadians to hate Air Canada (with some justification, as service tended to be poor and fares expensive where there was no competition). The subsequent emergence of Westjet as a competitor within Canada and improving revenue has meant that things have improved a bit in recent years. Air Canada has a regional affiliate, Jazz, that flies smaller aircraft on more lightly travelled routes.

Also known as:

Air Cannibal
Air Cannibis
Air Can't...uh...duh
Air Chaos
Air Crappy
Always Crappy
Err Canada
Mapleflot
Scare Canada
Trash Can

I'm flying Air Canada to Winnipeg next week.

by Eugene206 October 10, 2006

Death Cruiser

Somewhat morbid nickname for the McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 airliner, after several prominent crashes with many fatalities. Nickname frequently used by aircraft mechanics that worked on them. (Its descendant, the MD-11 was known by the mechanics as "More Death II").

"What are we working on tonight?"

"A 737 and a death cruiser."

by Eugene206 November 07, 2006

Christmas Graduate

University student that is kicked out of school halfway through the year due to poor academic performance.

"Where did Charlie go?"

"He got debarred. He's a Christmas Graduate."

by Eugene206 December 07, 2006

drive-thru

Window at the side of fast food places where you can get food (of some description) without leaving your car. Also sometimes a place where you can get good drugs without leaving your car, if you know the right stuff to order. Primarily a North American thing, in tune with the American way of conducting as much of life as possible from the car.

I don't want a sit-down meal tonight, let's just get something at the drive-thru.

by Eugene206 December 15, 2006

canada

The mysterious blank space at the top of American maps where snowstorms, cold fronts, maple syrup, hockey players and comedians come from.

"What state is Canada in?" (Nurse, San Antonio, Texas, October 2005)

by Eugene206 August 25, 2006

Licks

Kick-ass chain of burger joints in the Greater Toronto Area and Southern Ontario. Puts everyone else's burgers to shame. If you're going to have a burger-and-fries meal, this is the place!

I don't eat burgers and fries very often, but when I do, I get them from Licks.

by Eugene206 October 13, 2006

Gimli glider

1. Refers to Air Canada Boeing 767 C-GAUN (c/n 22520), which on July 23, 1983 ran out of fuel over Northern Ontario, and glided to a landing at an abandoned airfield in Gimli, Manitoba. At the time, this was the first ever dead-stick landing of a jet airliner. The aircraft was subsequently recovered from Gimli and flew for Air Canada for another 25 years before being finally retired in January 2008.

2. Subsequently, the term 'Gimli glider' has become Canadian slang for a particularly glaring screw-up.

1. Hopefully, the Gimli glider will end up in a museum.

2. You just pulled a real Gimli Glider back there.

by Eugene206 January 24, 2008